Penn State’s annual Ag Progress Days this week attracted thousands of people, but the buzz at this year’s event was the new $10 million farm conservation tax credit program approved in July called REAP.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Farm Bureau and many others were promoting REAP – the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act – in front of a very interested audience of farmers, equipment dealers and other potential partners.

REAP will provide $10 million this year to help fund agricultural best management practices in the form of transferable or sponsored tax credits directly to farmers and to the sponsors of projects on farms.

Matt Ehrhart, PA Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, talked about the partnership that developed and pushed REAP and its bipartisan legislative support in the General Assembly and about conservation funding CBF hopes to see included in the federal Farm Bill in Congress this Fall.

Video Blog: Matt Ehrhart on the Partnership that Built REAP and the Farm Bill

Kelly O'Neill, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Virginia Ishler, Penn State University, talked to farmers at Ag Progress Days about their precision feeding project that hopes to demonstrate how changing what we feed dairy cattle will reduce nutrients in manure.

Video Blog: What You Feed Cattle Reduces Nutrients in Manure

Lamonte Garber, also with CBF, provides more details on the REAP program and talks with farmers about how they can apply. CBF collected names and contact information for those interested in getting follow up information when the program becomes effective in October.

Video Blog: Overview of New REAP Program

CBF has had an information display at Ag Progress Days for the last ten years to help provide information on how farmers can become better stewards of the land. In addition to the REAP Program, CBF also helps farmers install streambank fencing and riparian buffers through the Crop Reserve Enhancement Program.

NewsClip: Gov. Rendell Highlights Renewable Energy at Ag Progress Days

8/17/2007